Grandpa's Wisdom

There's a saying that copying is the greatest form of flattery.

As I've watched each of our children grow into adults I see the kinds of things they become interested in doing with, and in, their lives. These things become a part of who we are. Great leaders all have the characteristic of knowing who they are and how to get to where they want to be. They know themselves. The Fabulous Four of the Green Machine are endowed with this characteristic.

Cooking and Running, (Jogging) are a couple of things that have come to mind lately. To wit: All four of my children seem to love to cook. All but one has engaged in running or jogging at some time in their life. Tim doesn't "formally" run or jog but is too busy working "the Property", fixing and building things, etc. as his hobbies. But, he does cook.

Jenni runs almost daily and has made it a part of her life's routine. As with most runners, she is fixated on her hobby. She is not a competitive runner; she does it for her own pleasure and satisfaction. I can relate to that because in earlier adulthood I, too, was fixated for period; and I got out of it the same pleasures she does. Lisa has run for a purpose, too; to get and stay in shape, to lose weight and to feel better. Again, that has been my goal, but with the added motivation that the more I ran, the more I could comfortably eat. Jerry started running fairly recently. I think he was inspired and motivated by Cathy, which is a good thing.

It was when I heard recently that Jerry was in training to run the famous Hood to Coast run next August that I began to recall the time I ran that race. At that time, the run started at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and ended in Pacific City on the central Oregon Coast, about 185 miles away. The teams consisted of 10 to 12 runners each taking on three five mile sections of the relay. The change now is that it ends in Seaside on the northern Oregon coast, but still the same format.

Other than my running regimen at the time, I didn't really "train" for this specific run. I was asked to join a team only three weeks before the event. I accepted and for three weeks I labored over whether I'd made a correct decision. Like Jenni, I've never considered myself a competitor against others, only myself. Jerry is doing the right thing. He's set his goal and he's working toward it with his training. Certainly, the rewards are to come.

One of the greatest thrills of that experience for me was to see Sharron and each of my children along the race route cheering me on. Talk about motivation. This race takes about 20 to 24 hours to complete so some of the running takes place during the dark hours of night. With each of my relay turns, night or day, I found my family supporting me along my route. They cheered in support and took photos and video that we all enjoyed watching later. I haven't seen those videos in quite some time, but what a memory for me. Not just the run, but being joined by my family. Now, with Jerry's effort to do the same, I have the added pleasure of remembering that experience again, as well as the flattery of him copying one of my fondest life experiences. I know that Sharron feels the same about each of our children emulating her in the kitchen.

Copying is, indeed, the best form of flattery. With both cooking and running, each of you are engaging in interests that will become traditions that will become the memories of your future, just like the many traditions we now have of the Green Machine Christmas. These traditions perpetuate and bind our family, generation after generation.

I hope that each of the "Pack of 13", (our beautiful and talented grandchildren), are taught these traditions and will become engaged in them the same as the Fabulous Four of the Green Machine have done. Let's all support Jerry in the big race next August.

DAD